Studio couch



l Feb- 28, 1939. w. E. WUNDERLICH 2,148,890

STUDIO COUCH Filed March 22, 1937 Patented Feb. 28, 1939 PATENT OFFICESTUDIO COUCH William E. Wunderlich, Muncie, nd., assignor to The MooreCompany, Muncie, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application March 22,1937, Serial No. 132,202

3 Claims.

My invention relates t'o studio couches and has for its particularobject the production of a studio-couch construction which can readilybe changed to convert the couch into a bed. A further object of myinvention is to provide an arrangement in which all the upholstery maybe permanently attached to the frame of the couch, whereby loose pads orcushions may be eliminated. Still another object of my invention is toprovide a couch of this type in which the two sections may either beleft permanently in association with each other to form a double-widthbed or may be completely separated to provide two independent beds.

In carrying ou-t my invention, I form the frame of the couch in twotelescoping sections, the outer one of which carries the seat of thecouch and the inner one of which carries the back. The back constitutesa rigid frame to the front face of which any desired form ofupholstering is permanently attached, and the back is connected to itsassociated frame-section or base by links which permit it to move froman approximately vertical, back-forming position to a substantiallyhorizontal, bed-forming position when the two sections of the couch areextended. Releasable latch means are provided for holding the two couch-sections in nested relationship when the structure is used as a couch,and additional means are provided permitting complete separation of thetwo sections when they are extended.

Theaccompanying drawing illustrates my invention, Figs. l and 2 beingend elevations, with parts broken away, showing the structure incouch-forming and bed-forming conditions respectively.

l The inner or lower section of the couch frame comprises legs Ill,cross members II, and longitudinal frame members I2 secured together toform a rigid frame which may include a beddingbox I3. If desired, thebedding-box may be built permanently` into the frame to aid in stifeningit.

The upper or outer section of the couch frame comprises legs I5, a frontI6 rigidly secured to the two front legs, and ends II rigidly secured tothe legs I5 at each end of the couch. A rectangular sub-frame I8 iscarried by the front I6 and ends I1, and to this frame the seat I9 ofthe couch is attached, the upholstering of the seat preferably includingsprings 20. The outer section of the couch is mounted on wheels orrollers 2I so that it can readily be moved forwardly or rearwardlyrelatively to the inner or lower frame section.

The back of the couch comprises a sub-frame to which suitableupholstering 26, desirably including springs 21, is attached. Thesub-frame 25 vis kconnected to the inner couch section or base throughthe medium of two links and 3I at each end of the couch. The upper endsof these links are pivotally connected in spaced relation to theadjacent end of the sub-frame 25, the axis of pivotal attachment of thelink 30 being above that of the link 3I. The link 30, which may besubstantially straight, has its lower end pivoted to the inner couchsection, conveniently to the rear leg lil near the bottom thereof. Thelower end of the link 3| is not connected directly to the inner couchsection, but instead is pivotally attached to an intermediate point ofan auxiliary link 33 one end of which is pivotally connected to the link3Q at an intermediate point thereof and the other end of which ispivotally connected to a swinging arm 34 which extends downwardly fromthe auxiliary link 33 and has its lower end pivotally connected to theinner frame-section, conveniently to the. adjacent cross-member II. Theeffective length of the arm 34 is approximately equal to the distancebetween the pivotal connections of the link 30 to the auxiliary link 33and the leg I0, respectively; so that any position of the auxiliary linkis approximately parallel to any other position. When the structure isused as a couch, the point of pivotal connection between the link 3I andthe auxiliary link 33 is located an appreciable distance in advance ofthe plane of the sub-frame 25, and the link 3I is therefore curved toclear the lower edge of such sub-frame.

When the structure described is used as a couch, the parts occupy therelative positions illustrated in Fig. l, the sub-frame 25 beingapproximately vertical and the outer frame section being moved inwardlyto bring the seat I9 into contact with Ithe back 26. When it is desiredto use the structure as a bed, the outer frame section carrying the seatI9 is moved forwardly to the position illustrated in Fig. 2. With theseat I 9 thus removed from the back 26, the sub-frame 25 can be tiltedrearwardly and moved forwardly into the position illustrated in Fig. 2,in which position the upper surface of the back 26 will be substantiallycoplanar with the upper surface of the seat I9. In this position, thesub-frame 25 rests securely on the top of the inner frame-section atboth front and rear.

The weight of the back 25 and its associated sub-frame 25 can be atleast partially counterbalanced by the provision of tension springs 35each of which acts between an auxiliary link 33 and the innerframe-section or base to bias such auxiliary link rearwardly, thustending to cause the link 30 to swing toward the upright position shownin Fig. 1. Conveniently, the legs Iil are formed of angle iron, asindicated, and the link 3D is pivoted to the inner face of one flange ofsuch angle iron so that the other flange can act as a stop or abutmentlimiting swinging movement of the link 30 to hold the back in thedesired upright position,

wardly from the outer or front section of the` couch frame. Engagementof the iinger 36 with the abutment 3l prevents the back 25 from movingout of its vertical position until after the outer couch-section hasbeen moved forwardly far enough to permit the linger 36 to clear theabutment 31.

to the base.

To aid in holding the back 25 irmly in upright position the links 30 and3| are desirably f so arranged that, as the back 25 approaches itsextreme upright position, the pivotal axis of the connection between thelink 3l and back 25 passes through a line joining the pivots at the topof the link 3E) andat the lower end yof the link 3|. With thisarrangement, a certain toggle-like action is obtained which tends tostress the links slightly, take up all lost motion, and hold the back 25rather rmly in upright position.

I obtain several distinct advantages by pivoting the lower end of thelink 3i on the auxiliary link 33 rather than directly to the base orinner frame-section of the couch. One such advantage arises from thefact that as the [back is swung from upright toward horizontal positionit is bodily carried forwardly, thus decreasing the maximum distance towhich the upper edge of the back 25 will project rearwardly beyond thebase as it is lowered and making it unnecessary to move the couch as farfrom a wall in rear of it as would otherwise be the case. Anotheradvantage obtained by the use of the auxiliary link 33 is vthat the back25, when moved upwardly from itslower position illustrated in Fig. 2,will not tilt as rapidly as it would if the lower end of the link 3!were pivoted directly As a result of this last feature, it is easier toobtain a rm seating of the back 25 at both the front and rear sides ofthe base. Still another advantage resulting from the use of the link 33is an increase in the smoothness of action as the back 25 is moved fromone position to the other and a more satisfactory balancing of the backby the spring 35.

In effect, the links 30 and 3l may be regarded as pivoted to theauxiliary link 33 and the structure as embodying means for moving theauxiliary link forward as the back 25 is lowered, and

vice versa.

To prevent the outer or front section of the frame from moving forwardlyon its supporting rollers 2l when the structure is being used as acouch, ,I may provide a releasable latch means for holding the two framesections in telescoping relation. As shown in the drawing, the uppercross-member l l at each end of the inner framesection projectsforwardly beyond the front legs ID and is there provided with atransversely extending pin 42. The outer or upper framesection isprovided at each end with a latch member 43 positioned to co-operatewith the pin 42 when the two frame-sections are telescoped together. Asshown, each of the latch members is provided with a downwardly opening,pinreceiving notch 44 and, in rear of such notch, with a rearwardly andupwardly inclined camsurface 45. When the two sections of the frame aremoved into telescop-ing relation, the cam surfaces 45 engage the pins42, thus causing `the outer frame section to be elevated slightly untilthe notches 44 come yover the pins 42, whereupon the outer frame sectiondrops under the influence of gravity and the pin 42, being received inthe notch 44, holds the two sections together. When it is desired tomove the sections into extended relationship, the front side of theouter section is raised slightly to permit the rear wall of the notch 44to clear the pin 42, and the outer frame section is then movedoutwardly.

The same pins 42 which co-operate with the notches 44 to retain the twoframe sections in telescoped relationship may also be employed to limitseparation of the two frame sections. To this end, the pins 42 are madelong enough to overlap the flanges on the rear legs I of the outer framesection, so that they engage such anges when the two frame sections arecompletely extended and prevent their separation. If desired, the upperends of the iianges on the legs l5 may be cut away, as indicated at 4lso that by moving the front end of the inner frame section upwardlyrelative to the rear end of the outer section the pins 42 can be made toclear the leg-flanges, whereby the two frame sections can be completelyseparated to form two independent beds.

I claim as my invention:

l. Inv a studio couch, a base, a back, a pair of main links pivotallyconnected to said back in vertically spaced relation at each end of theback, the upper of said main links being pivotally connected to saidbase at its lower end, an arm pivoted to said base, and an auxiliarylink pivotally connected to an intermediate point of said upper mainlink extending forwardly therefrom, and connected to said arm, the lowerend of the other of said main links being pivoted to 'said auxiliarylink.

2. In a studio couch, a base, a back, and a pair of link mechanismslocated at opposite ends of the base and operatively connecting the baseand back, each of said link mechanisms comprising a member movablysupported from said base, a pair of links having their lower endspivotally connected to said member in spaced relation and their upperends pivotally connected to said back in spaced relation, said linksbeing so arranged as to guide the back for movement from a generallyvertical position to a generally horizontal position with its front faceuppermost, and means for moving said member forwardly as said back ismoved from vertical to horizontal position, said means comprising anextension rigid with one of said links, said extension projectingdownwardly below said member and being pivotally connected to said base.

3. In a studio couch, a base, a back, and a pair of link mechanismslocated at opposite ends of the base and operatively connecting the baseand back, each of said link mechanisms comprising a member movablysupported from said base, a pair of links having their lower endspivotally connected to said member in spaced relation and their upperends pivotally connected to said back in spaced relation, said linksbeing so arranged as to guide the back for movement from a generallyvertical position to a generally horizontal position with its front faceuppermost,

and means for moving said member forwardly as said back is moved fromvertical to horizontal position. Y n

WILLIAM E. WUNDERLICH.

